Combination carton and wrapper for fragile articles



R. E.v PAIGE Dec. 25, 1951 COMBINATION CARTON AND WRAPPER FOR FRAGILEARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 12, 1946 f m ATTORNEY 5 R. E. PAIGEDec. 25, 1951 COMBINATION CARTON AND WRAPPER FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES FiledJan. 12, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fP/C'HA RD 1:. PA

BY ATTORNEYS Dec. 25, 1951 R E. PAIGE 2,580,043

COMBINATION CARTON AND WRAPPER FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 19464 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR fF/CHARD E. P/i/f ATTORNEYS Dec. 25, 1951 R.E. PAIGE 2,530,043

COMBINATION CARTON AND WRAPPER FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 19464 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR P/cH/uw E. A/Gf ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 25,1951 UNIT-so- STATE-S res-r COMBINATION GARTON AND :WRAPPER FOR FRAGILEARTICLES This invention. relates to improvements x-in: shipping.containers; for, :fragile "or. irregular: shaped-articles;

In the past, it has been thepractice 1 to? pack irregular-shapedarticles 'for shipment .byplacing the articleor articlesin a. regularsquare or: rectangular I carton and bracing the articles byinsertingarbitrarily-shaped fillers, excelsior; or: other cushioningmaterialsbetween the fiat walls. of the cartonand the -irreg=ulai'=formof: the mer-' chandise to be packed. .Such' packing methodsare bothcostly and time-consuming, and are usually-"of'such a nature that if themerchandise is removed from the carton for inspection-before sale, it isnot always possible tore-pack it as it was originally packed. It istherefore-one of the important features of this invention to provide anindividual wrapper for the article which when foldedtherearound supportsthe article at different points for subsequent positioning withinacarton in a novelmannerto causeonly corner edges of v the foldedwrapper to contact 'the walls of the carton. The article or articles sowrapped and positioned-in a cartonmay' be said to be floating andprotectedagainst breakage by shocks to which a package is subjectedduring sleeve= are-open, the'article is firmly supportedtherein againstaccidental shifting movement laterally'and endwise:

Another feature of the invention is the provision of apackagingwrapper'foldable into unlimited shapes to accommodate the peculiarirregular. outline of an article to-be packed. To accomplishthis-uniqueresult; the wrapper blank is provided: with compensated. scoring, thatis,' there will; always .be provided pairs ofirregular score linesin.opposedi relation, whichfwhen: the

blankis folded thereon, shapesithecwrapper between .the. score. lines tothe: contour ofthe score lines. irregularly, Adjoining panels .of l thewrapper so. formed will; always be opposite to each otherin contour for.one compensates for the. other. -For-.instance,.if the surface of onepanel of the. wrapper isconvex-the' next adjacent panelsurfacewill beconcave, or ifconsidered:

in. the categoryof angles, one panel will be; dis-.-

shownin full lines.

corrugated'board or equivalent: material as best posed opposite thatofan adjacent paneland at.the.same degree.

vide an. article wrapper; which is; insertab1e= -1 to.

a' squareshapedcarton diagonally in a direction from one corner toanopposed corner with the folded edges of the wrapper continuouslyengaging the sidewalls of the carton throughout the hei'ght of thewrapper whereby the wrapper isi'firmlyheld Within the carton to protectthe wrapped: article from breakage due to shocks imparted to the cartonduring ordinary: handling inshipment.

Otherrnovel features of the invention will become: apparent as :thefollowing specification is readninrconjunction with the accompanyingdralwingaint which Figurel' is a. topplan view of a carton with its"top; flaps; open: illustrating my invention as applied to. the:packaging. of stem glassware or similarishaped articles.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken diagonallythrough the.package on the line 2-2 of Eigure' 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on. the line.3-i-3 of 'FigureZ.

Figureiis a perspective viewof the wrapped articles: removed from thepackaging carton.

Figure 5 is. a vertical sectional view on. the line 5'5 of Figure 4.

Figure-6 is a planviewof one of the. wrappers prior to folding.

Figurefl is a top plan view of a carton with its top. flaps open:illustrating a single article packaged therein.

Figure 8 is a vertical diagonal sectional view taken on the line' 88 ofFigure 7 but showing the cartonin dot and dash lines.

Figure-=9 is a vertical sectional view of the wrapped article per seshown in Figure '7 but taken :on a lineal; right angle to the line 8B.

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line [9-HT ofFigure 8, the carton being Figure 11 is a plan view of the wrapper shownin Figures? to 10 prior tofoluing or the same.

Referring-to the drawings by reference characterslandatpresent to theform of the inven- =tion illustrated in Figures 1 to fi-inclusive, the

numeral it]; designates an irregular shaped wrapper constructed-inaccordance with my invention;: The -wrapper'lll isformed from a singleelongatedcblank- A of stiff" foldable cardboard,

illustrated in Figure 6. The blank A is of a height greater than-thearticle to-be wrapped therein and-is of a length to entirely surroundthe article and have itsends overlapping for a .distanceequal to theside wall which they form when the blank is fold'edto setup position.The blank A is cut and scored-in a manner to surroundand support anarticle of glassware B in theshape. of a-stem type drinking. glass.However, it will be understood that the article may 1 3 be of variousirregular shapes and I do not wish to restrict my invention to the shapeof the article shown. The glass B includes a body C which is the widestportion thereof, a stem D, and a flat annular base E.

The right and left end edges of the blank A are designated R and L. Eachend edge R and L is provided with a vertical edge portion H extendingdownwardly from the top edge of the blank, a straight downwardly andoutwardly inclined edge portion [2, and a straight downwardly andinwardly inclined edge portion l3. Spaced parallel horizontal scorelines [4 and I5 extend the length of the blank. The ends of score linel4 meet the juncture of the edge portions H and i2. The ends of thescore line 15 meet the juncture of the edge portions I2 and I3. 7

The blank A is further divided by suitably spaced diagonal score lines,four of which have been shown. These score lines are arranged in pairsand are identical in shape but are disposed in opposed relation. Eachpair of diagonal score lines is designated G and H and extend from thebottom to the top edge of the blank. The two score lines GG are parallelto the right end edge of the blank. The two scores HH are parallel tothe left 'end edge of the blank. Thus it will be understood that thescore lines G and H are opposed to each other so that when the blank isfolded on the score lines, said lines shape the material or panelstherebetween to the corresponding contour.

The scoring of the blank A in the manner just described divides the sameinto a number of opposed infolding and compensating opposed outfoldingside wall panels. In order. to identify these panels I shalldescriberthe score line portions which constitute each score line G andH.

Each score line G comprises irregularly related score line portions I lM and l3 which respectively parallel the edge portions I], I2 and I3 ofthe right end edge R.

Each score line H comprises irregularly related score line portions lll2 ,.and l3 which respectively parallel the edge portions ll, l2 and H3of the left end edge L.

The material of the blank bounded by end edge L and adjacent score Gconstitutes a folding side wall section K. The material between end edgeR and adjacent score line H constitutes a folding side wall section Mwhich is a companion wall section to the section K and overlaps the samewhen the blank is folded for use.

The material midway between the ends of the blank bounded by theintermediate score lines G and H constitutes a side wall section Nsimilar in size and shape to the wall sections K and M and adapted to beopposed thereto when the blank is folded.

Disposed intermediate the wall sections K and N and between N and M aretwo identicalwall sections P-P, the same being disposed opposite to eachother when the blank is folded for use.

The side wall sections K, M, and N are identical and are divided by thehorizontal score lines l4 and I5 into an upper rectangular shaped wallpanel section IS, an intermediate panel section II, and a lower panelsection I8.

Each side wall section P is divided by the horizontal score lines l4 andI5 into an upper rectangular shaped wall panel section 19, anintermediate substantially V-shaped panel section 20, and a lowersubstantially inverted V-shaped panel section 2|. f

In order to fit the wrapper 'Hl about the glass B or other irregularshaped article to be packed for shipment, the blank A is folded on theparallel score lines I4 and I5 and upon the shaped score lines G-G andH-H into substantially tubular form as shown in Figure 4. Afterinitially folding the blank A to this tubular form, the same ispartially opened to fit the wrapper about the glass B whereupon the wallsections M and K are brought into overlapped relation and securedtogether by a strip of glue tape 22 which overlies the free end edge Rof wall section M and the panel I! of said wall section and panel 20 ofadjacent wall section P. When the wrapper Ill is in its final folded andsecured position about the glass B as shown in Figure 4, it assumes anirregular shaped appearance in which the opposed walls are of similarform, however, two opposed wall sections are reversely shaped relativeto the other two opposed Wall sections by reason of the compensatedscoring hereinbefore explained. All of the panel sections It and I9assume a vertical position. Each pair of related panel sections 20 and2| of opposed wall sec tions PP assumes a position in outwardlyconverging relation meeting at the score 15 which constitutes an apex.Thus the portions of the wall sections P-P below the panels l9--l9 bulgeoutwardly.

In order to compensate for the outward bulging of the opposed wallsections P-P, it is necessary for the two opposed side wall sectionsN-MK to have portions which correspondingly bulge inwardly toward eachother. Thus the panel sections [1 and I8 of each of the side wallsections N-MK assume a position in inwardly converging relation whichmeet at the score line 15.

By reference to Figure 5 it will be seen that the top end of the glass Bis engaged by the vertical panel sections IE and IS. The lower bodyportion of the glass is engaged by the opposed downwardly convergingpanel sections l!-l I inwardly of their free ends, while the edge of thebase E of the glass is engaged by the opposed downwardly diverging panelsections |8|8. The constricted portion of the wrapper between panelsections l1 and I8 along the fold line I5 engages the stem D of theglass. The glass B is now surrounded by the wrapper Ill in a mannerwhich prevents shifting of the glass endwise or sidewise relative to thewrapper and is protected by the wrapper against breakage by shocks whichmight be imparted to the wrapped article during handling or shipment.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 I have illustrated a novel method in which aplurality of Wrapped units such as shown in Figure 4 may be packed in aconventional cardboard or corrugated board carton 23. The carton 23 issquare in plan and includes a bottom wall 24, four side walls 25, andopposed sets of folding top flaps 26-26. Four wrapped units are shown asbeing packed in the carton 23 but by making the carton deeper,additional wrapped units may be packed in a single carton by arrangingthem in tiers with a dividing partition therebetween. Four Wrapped unitsare illustrated within the carton, one fitted diagonally into eachcorner of the carton with the score lines G and H facing the corner andbeing in engagement with the side walls 2525 adjacent said corner. Thefolded edges formed by scores G and H opposite to those engaging thesidewalls of thecarton; engage corresponding foldedges on adjacentwrapped units as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. These irreguatmeeting edges or adjacent wrapped units en'- gage throughouttheir'lengths, thus causing the wrapped units tobe firmly nested withinthe body of thecarton against shifting movement relative to'aeh other.A'U sha-ped' cardboard'fillermember Z-Fsnugly-fits' into the spacebetween-the; inwardly-facing vertical wall panels L9 to brace the upperportions of the fourwrapped units; *The filler member 21 is limited itsinsertion by the opposed outwardly bulging sets of panels 28-48; Afterthe wrapped units have been fitted intothe car-ton 23in the mannerexplained; the top-coverfiap-s 25- are folded inwardly and sealed;int-heconventional well known manner.

The wrapper is so'shaped thatthe upper-sections 16 are all of the samewidth and when the wrapper is folded these sections give it a squareform at the top, as fully indicated in Figure 4. The sections l'iand l8increase in width toward the transverse score line 15, while thesections 203116. 2 decrease in width toward and score line It. Hence thesides comprising sections l1 aud t-8 bulge inward and these-sides are;reentrant. On the other hand the two remainingsides comprising sections2-3 and ii bulge out ward-L The edge We and l2b in which the sections20' intersect with the sections l 'l-makean anglerespectively with theedges Ho and I319 inwhichthe sections l3 intersect with the sections 2IThese edges along thecornersofthe four sides consist in each case of abroken line made of-parts lZ-aand lBaor i221 and 13b, which meet-Lin theline [5, delineating an angle with its apex onsaid-line. Hence eachbroken line at the edges or corners ofthe sides between the I topsections Iii-and" the bottom determines a separate geometrical plane;and-said four planes;

intersect each with two others at substantially right angles, envelopingthe wrapper to define a space orfigureof the same transverse rectangularor square shape'as the inside of the container 28---that is shown inFigure '7. The upper sections-I6; with the wrapper designedas shown, allmake equal angles atboth sides with the planes in: question, and-thisfact is the reason whythe wrapper will fit into the square boxof Figure7* snugly-(with the edges Ha, !2b, {3a and Iil'b, making contactthrou'ghout the length thereof with the inside faces ofthe sides of thiscarton at; the middle of saidsides. Of course the parts lfi could be sodesigned that the top is more of a rectangle-than a square. Theconstruction is of' coursefthe same when the upper sections l6areomitted, as in Figure 8; because, with such a construction the .fside edges l2ajand 13:1, I21), and l3b, determine planes which have thesame relative locations as before and enable this wrapper to fit snuglythe inside of a container 28.

In Figures '7 to 11 inclusive, I have illustrated my invention. appliedto thepackaging of a. single article within an individual container. Thefold able blank from whichthe wr pper is constructed is identical withthe blank A except that the por tion ofblank A above the score line l4hasbeen eliminated, thustheiupstanding panels I6 and I9 are dispensedwith. i Inviewof the-fact that the scoring. and folding. of the blank isthe same-"as that-of the blank A. in Figure 6 like reference charactersrefer .'to correspondingiparts liig urs' i to" 11 1. r l

The article enclosed in the Wrapper in Figures '7 to 10 inclusive is inthe shape of a cocktail glass designated B and includes a' body C, therim of which is the widest portion of the glass, a stem 6 D1andagfiatannular base E' .-y Wh en the glass: B- is enclosed in itsw-rapper it -will be seen by reference to Figure- 8- that the rimengages the opposed downwardly-diverging panels "2 0--2fl; and also byreferenceto Figure -9- itfwillbe seen that not only the rim or the glasscontactsnot onlysaid panels--2l3'20=but alsot-he opposeddownwardlyconverging; panels l'1-'-l'1; The panels 11- l 1' are also engaged by;the lower portion of the body;C-' of theglass while the base E 'enga gesthe opposed-- upwardly converging panels Hi -t8; while-the meetingportions of the panels llandy l3 at the fold formed by score-line i5 aredls-- posed inclose proximityto; the stem D". The glass B'- iscushioningly supported in the wrap per against vertical or lateral"sliding movement.

Thewrapped glass B is-insertedinto-an indi vidual square carton 28*through thetop thereof when the closure flaps; Ell-are in open swungback position; The wrapped glass B is inserted diagonally into thecarton 28-'s o that all of the cornersformed by the score lines G''-Gand H-H respectively contact the four sidewall-s of the cartonthroughout theirlengths as best illustrated' in Figures 1' and 10. Thusinstead of only two corner edges :Contactingthe walls of; the carton asshown in Figures '1 and 3" all four irregular corner edges engage therespective four walls of-the carton.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings itwill' be understood thatthe irregular shaped article; a glassin this instance, is surrounded by a wrapper which in vertical sectionsubstantially'conforms to the general contour of the articlebut instraight lines disposed in angular relation.

Thus, the related panels do not fit 'the identical shapeof the articlebut support it in many places to prevent vertical and lateral shiftingof the article enclosed in whatmay be termedaspeciale;

ly-shaped open ended sleeve; The article-cam not be inserted intothewrapper after folding but must have the wrapper foldedtherearound. Inallinstances, adjoining panels of the folded" wrapperwillalwaysbeopposite to eachother in contour, for if one panel isconvexorprojectingr the next must be concave or reentrant. Certainopposed'side walls of the folded' wrap-per extend away: from the articlewhich it houses, thereby.

bracing the sleeve-like wrapperagainst' the wall of the shipping-carton.The article housed'in the folded wrapper is suspended thereinin spacedrelation to the Walls of the carton so that in the event of-d'amagedoneto the carton during handling and shipment it willnotbe conveyed tothe article. This feature also enables the wrappe'r to absorb shock andtherebypprevent acci If desired, a plurality-cf foldedwrapperscontaining articles to be shipped may be inserted into the respectivesquare cellsfof'a carton having vertical crossed partitions; In suchinstances A the wrappers are inserted into the respective cells in thesame manneras they are insertedin a separate carton shown inFigui'eflaThroughout the specifi'cation andalsoin the appended claims I havereferred to the opposed pairs of side walls of the folded wrapper asbeing concave and convex." Such terms are used to cover both curves andangles, for it will be appreciated that the irregular shaped portions ofthe side walls of the wrapper may be formed by straight or curved linescoring of the blank from which the wrapper is formed.

In my own previous Patent No. 2,050,894, dated August 16, 1936, I haveshown a form of scoring known as compensated scoring, in which pairs ofmatched irregular lines are foldedin a. manner identical to the presentinvention. The prior invention covered a basic principle of foldingsheet material. The prior patent of Marshall I. Williamson No.2,067,998, covered a method of collapsing compensated forms therebymaking them capable of being glued automatically by standard folding-boxgluing machines, Neither invention teaches a method of making a rigidcorrugated wrapper requiring no pasting. The compensated forms achievedby the two above-mentioned patents were made as decorative containersinto which merchandise could be inserted after the box is set up, andsaid merchandise could be removed without afiecting the box. In thepresent invention, compensated forms are used to wrap around and holdfirmly the merchandise placed within it, and said merchandise can onlybe removed by opening the wrapper. The lay-out of the folding are put toa new use in the bracing of the article within it by its various concaveand convex surfaces. While the illustrations in this application showthe use of compensated wrappers on drinking goblets only, such wrapperslend themselves to the packing of electric fans, glass coffee makers,radio tubes, and countless other fragile articles.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferredembodiments of my invention, I wish it to be understood that suchchanges in construction, material, and design as come within the scopeof the appended claims may be resorted to if desired without departingfrom the spirit of my invention as set forth in the claims hereuntoannexed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A packing for articles having portions reduced in size between ends,comprising tubular wrappers each with alternating indented and bulgingsides, the indented sides of each wrapper being separated by a narrowspace for containing the reduced portion of said article therein, theindented and bulging sides intersecting in lines having portionsextending in diifernt directions towards the opposite lateral edges ofthe wrapper and lying in planes extending at right angles to one anotherwhen said wrapper is attached to said article, and a receptacle havingsquare corners containing said wrappers with the articles therein, saidwrappers being in diagonal positions, each wrapper having one of itsbulging sidesat the center of the receptacle, the wrappers being incontact at said center, and the opposite bulging side making contactwith the inside of the receptacle at the corners thereof.

2. A packing for articles having portions reduced in size between ends,comprising tubular wrappers each with alternating indented and bulgingsides, the indented sides comprising panels intersecting along atransverse line and being widest at said line, the bulging sidescomprising panels also intersecting along a transverse line and beingnarrowest at said line, the indented sides of each wrapper beingseparated by a narrow space for containing the reduced portion of saidarticle therein, the indented and bulging sides intersecting in lineshaving portions taining said wrappers with the articles therein,

said wrappers being in diagonal positions, each wrapper having one ofits bulging sides at the center of the receptacle, the wrappers being incontact at said center, and the opposite bulging side making contactwith the inside of the receptacle at the corners thereof.

3. The wrapper according to claim 1 wherein the indented walls arenarrowest adjacent the ends of said article and the bulging walls arewidest adjacent said ends.

4. A packing for articles having portions reduced in size between ends,comprising a tubular wrapper with alternating indented and bulgingsides, the indented sides being separated by a narrow space forcontaining the reduced portion of said article therein, the indented andbulging sides intersecting in lines having portions extending indifferent directions towards the opposite lateral edges of the wrapperand lying in planes extending at right angles to one another when saidwrapper is attached to said article, and a receptacle having squarecorners to receive said wrapper with the article therein, said wrapperbeing in diagonal position and having the edges of one of its bulgingsides making contact with sides of the receptacle at a corner thereof.

5. A packing for article having portions reduced in size between ends,comprising a tubular wrapper with alternating indented and bulgingsides, the indented sides comprising panels intersecting along atransverse line and being widest at said line, the bulging sidescomprising panels also intersecting along a transverse line and beingnarrowest at said line, the indented sides of each wrapper beingseparated by a narrow space for containing the reduced portion of saidarticle therein, the indented and bulging sides intersecting in lineshaving portions extending in diiferent directions towards the oppositelateral edges of the wrapper and lying in planes extending at rightangles to one another when said wrapper is'attached to said article, anda receptacle having square corners to receive said wrapper with thearticle therein, the wrapper having one of its bulging sides makingcontact'with the inside of the receptacle at a corner thereof.

RICHARD E. PAIGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

